


The Labyrinth

by MeiHwa



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27686506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeiHwa/pseuds/MeiHwa
Summary: Take a walk through the Labyrinth with Jareth & Bri in their search to catch up with the one haunting their dreams.
Relationships: Jareth (Labyrinth)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

“Aello. Lovely day i’n’t it?” Clouds drifted over the sun, sending mottled rays over the plants and rocks of what surely was a well tended garden. The tiny voice startled the young woman, for whom the question was asked. She twitched awake, opening her eyes in a snap but quickly squeezing them closed again at the bright sunlight. A stretch, a yawn and a more cautious opening of her eyes followed.

“Mmm, yes,” she agreed looking up at the sun through her fingers. “It is a lovely day.” It was then she took in the rest of her surroundings. The greenery surrounded her. She lay on a rock that was covered in so much thick moss that she took it for a bed. Perhaps it was her bed? Turning from one side to the other, she rolled her body to where the voice had come from. She found a small worn with a scarf around its neck looking at her curiously. “Aello to you too, little worm.”

“Would you like a nice cuppa tea?”

“I would love a nice cuppa tea!” The young lady paused, then asked, “What’s a cuppa tea?”

“Right,” the worm gave a long sigh of understanding, “I get groggy first thing in the mornin’ too. The missus made enough for all of us. Said she’d be out in a bit with some breakfast. Nothing like a nice breakfast in the garden.” His little tail came around and set a tea tray on a flat spot of moss a little higher than himself.

She gave another stretch and sat up, placing her bare feet on the cool grass. Arms reached up at the sky, elegant and graceful as the statue on the fountain just a little ways away, almost mimicking its pose as she looked up at her hands. Her soft, flowing dress seemed to be strips of cloth wrapping and overlapping again and again, never showing what needed to be concealed. It was a garment that defied gravity and lacked actual stitching. As the clouds continued to drift by, a gleam of brightness caught her eye coming from the fountain. A tiara graced the head of the statue. Standing and walking over to admire the work of art, the young woman looked closer at the face and exclaimed, “That’s me!” The waving hair hung low down her back, her dress was shown as fluttering in the breeze but frozen in stone and she looked up at her hands.

“Of course that’s you, dearie!” said the tiny masculine voice shouted behind her. “Don’cha remember?”

“Is it now?” she asked thoughtfully. Her mind was both full of memories and fuzzy in thought at the same time. Closing her eyes, she smiled as she pictured the last thing she remembered before waking up. “I was having a dream before.” A handsome face with sadness and loneliness etching lines of worry on his brow. “Such a handsome face… I know him.” she said softly.

“Ah, yes,” Mr. Worm said and nodded. “He was here earlier. Wondered where you were, he did. Was looking for you, he was. ‘Where are you, My Queen?’ he asked.”

“Awe, did he leave me this pretty thing?” She asked as she stepped up onto the fountain's base and took the tiara off the statue to place it on her own head. Glancing down, she read the script out loud and she stepped around the lip of the fountain. “Queen of the Labyrinth.” Reaching up and truly mimicking the statue’s pose, she gave a giggle. “I’m just missing,” from the position of the sculpted hand, the statue used to hold something.

“You left your mirror over here, love.” said a tiny feminie voice behind her. The missus must have brought out their breakfast.

“Come eat, Bri dear, while the scones are warm and toasty from the oven.”

Obediently, Bri hopped off the fountain and went back over to the miniature breakfast being laid out on a plateau of her bed. Her golden head dipped down to be eye level with the two worms. “What a lovely tea set. And the dishes! So tiny and delicate.” With her finger and thumb, she took a plate and set it carefully in her opposite palm. When she lifted it from their level, the plate grew to Bri’s size, filling her hand with a plate of fruit and scones. She reached down for a cup and it was the same size by the time it tilted to her lips. A sound of appreciation eased through her lips in a long ‘mmm’. “That is the best cuppa tea I have ever had!”

Missus Worm smiled broadly and waved her tail. “Och, you are too kind, love!” Holding her cup in her tail she took sips in between her words, “So what are you planning to do today?”

Bri tilted her head to the side in thought and took a sip. “Hmm, something different. I feel adventurous. What do you suggest?”

“Such a fine day!” Amazement at the beauty of the perfect day broke forth in his shout even though Mr. Worm sat in a relaxed pose. “Would be a good day for a stroll. Stretch the limbs and such.”

“Hmm,” she said again, laying her plate in her lap and letting her hand rest on the rock. As she leaned back her fingers touched the edge of cool metal and she remembered her mirror. She took the mirror, lifted it up, and observed her face. Much like the statue, she looked frozen in time. Had she not lifted her other hand to touch her cheek, Bri might have thought the reflexion wasn’t real. Nothing felt quite right, not quite real. She frowned lightly but the image kept smiling as she let the mirror drop into her lap. That wasn’t right, Bri though and looked out of the corner of her eye at the mirror that should have reflected the sky above her. With a quick twist of her hand towards the little worms, she asked, “What do you see?”

“Me and the missus,” Mr. Worm said, relieving Bri’s worries until he finished with, “and the back of your mirror!”

“Really?” Bri asked with awe.” Flipping it back to face her she saw her face again. Then it occurred to her. Having it face them, she turned her own head to scan over the garden.

“Oh! There’s our house, and the fairy ring, the big tree, and there’s the fountain!” Missus Worm sounded amazed at this fine trick of the reflection.

“Oh good.” A sigh of relief eased out of Bri. “It’s just enchanted. Not me.”

“Not anymore!” chimed in Mr. Worm. “Not since this morning.”

“What did it use to do?” The question was asked very slowly as if Bri was worried about the gravity of the answer.

Missus Worm answered in a voice full of mystery. “It would show you what you asked to see.” Then she arched her body in what Bri took for a shrug. “Or at least that is what everyone that comes to visit does.” A sly lean and a wink was given as she whispered. “Your young man always comes to ask where you are. Or what you’re doing. Or who you love.”

A hopeful note was in her voice as she asked, “Would it make him smile?”

“Ach, some of the time he’d get a small smile,” Mr. Worm reassured the young woman. “But, other times…”

“He’d get into a right huff sometimes, beggin’ yer pardon, mi’lady.” Her tiny teacup made a click as she set it down roughly. “Kickin’ flowers, the pour dears; swingin’ his sword around; screamin’ “ she shook her head sadly. “Right like an injured wolf howling at the moon.” A high pitched chirp came out of her. “Not very kingly if’n you ask me.”

“Oh Goblin King: Manners aren’t exactly in your reign. That’s what you get for falling in love with a statue instead of the real thing!” Mr. Worm chimed in again, either repeating a quote or waxing poetic. The Missus thumped him on the head for that comment.

“Ow!”

“He wasn’t. Didn’t you hear him this mornin’. A right mess, he was. Given up on his hopes and dreams, he was.” Turning to Bri, she said with sadness. “Cryin’ for you to find him since he couldn’t find you, he was.”

Bri stood quickly, plate tumbling into the grass. “I must!” She looked around the garden finding half a dozen exits. “I must find him!” She twisted the mirror round and round in her hand. “Where does he go after visiting me?”

“The old book pile!” How the little worm could look so relaxed and sound so excited with his news always surprised Bri.

“He means the library, love. He’s always lookin’ for clues or tales or news of you.”

“Good, perhaps I can catch up to him.” She ran on light feet straight through an exit calling back to them, “Thank you for, well, everything!”

They watched her go with quick wishes of luck. Mr. Worm looked at his missus as she cleaned up their breakfast picnic. “She didn’t even stay long enough for directions!”

“Ach! Only a few can find their way. Bri makes it her way.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was a dead end. Yesterday it wasn’t a dead end, nor the day before that. Jareth tapped his riding crop against his boot in irritation. 

“Why must even You defy me when I’ve reached my limit?” There was a rattle of metal on metal behind him that made him glance over his shoulder. Goblins weren’t very good with keeping still or quiet for too long, even in shock that their king reached a dead end. The little band that he brought with him waited like lost puppies. He spun around and marched back the way they came. “Well, come along. The library is closed.” 

They parted before him so he could again take the lead. But where should he lead them now? The human was loose, trying not-so-hard to find his little sister. Jareth left her playing in the castle quite happily. His palace was just that, a palace, compared to the shabby hoven he pulled her from. Her brother was probably seeking treasure and considering this whole experience a blessing.

“Greedly little human trash,” Jareth muttered under his breath. “I should throw a curse in your path.” Tapping his chin with one finger, he held his other hand behind his back as he stomped ahead. “Something to make him pull out his hair,” he said out loud but ended in the thought ~like I am suffering~.

He slowed his step and let Birdbrain, a goblin who had an occupied nest living on top of his helmet, catch up with him. The mother bird was pushing one of the eggs to the edge, aiming for the goblin’s nose. Jareth plucked up the rotten egg and rolled it back and forth over his fingers without dropping it. A devilish smile lifted a corner of his lips. “To the Pit of Despair.” A cheer rose up from the troup until what their King said sunk in causing the cheer to end in groans. That brought a genuine smile to Jareth’s face.


	3. Chapter 3

“It _is_ a pile!” the young woman said in awe. Her head slowly rotated to follow a particularly impressive collumn that curved into an arch of open books. The very walls of the library were made of books. As she approached, the wind blew and fluttered exposed pages. There was water making cheerful pattering noises from a fountain which she turned to look at. “There I am again,” was her comment as she stepped closer to the second fountain. She sat this time, with a book in hand. Little reading glasses of silvery metal sat on her nose as she looked down into the pages of a real book. “And what are you reading today?” she asked herself as she leaned closer.

“T... T... Tales of the Unknown, ooOoooo,” came a voice trying to sound mysterious from the roof of the library. An old man stumbled and slipped on pages of the roof until he reached the edge to peer down at the new library patron. His eyes went as wide as saucers and he stuttered out, “Ma..Ma..Ma.., Abby!” before he slipped off the roof. It was a short drop in which he twisted like a cat and landed on his feet to perform a bow. Arms stretched out and his mustache followed. “Your Majesty."

That was the second specific name someone had given her today, and just like looking into the mirror in her hands, she felt it was not quite right, nor wrong. Honorifics she knew instantly, however, and responded in kind. “Professor, so good to see you.” He seemed pleased with her recognizing him and brushed his hands over his whiskers. It showed Bri the ends of his long, bushy mustache were tied into his buttonholes. She concluded it was the only way for him not to trip on his own hair because without the precaution, it would be dragging on the ground. “Have you seen his Highness today?"

He shook his head and bowed again in apology, “N.. N..No, Abby.” Pointing to the book in the statue’s hand, “But I hav.. ha.. have, his requested page ready.”

“Let’s see,” Bri started as she picked up the book from her statues hands and set the mirror in its place. Noting the type looked swirled and out of order, she lifted the glasses as well and put them on. Everything on the page straightened itself out. The Professor seemed to sputter and stutter a protest and she started to pace a little circle and read aloud. “The original creator of the Labyrinth died with only his creation to succeed him. All accounts of the original design were destroyed leaving no map to show a true path through the maze. Well I knew that well enough,” She flipped the book shut bringing a cry out of the professor. “, but what,” Noticing the man was now on his hands and knees crying she knelt next to him and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Awe, what’s wrong, Professor?”

Waving one hand towards her, the other clutched his chest as if he was having a heart attack. “The page!” he wheezed. 

It was then Bri noticed a bookmark held out in his hand. She rolled her eyes at his exaggeration and flipped the book back open to the place he had displayed. “I didn’t lose your place, Professor.” Still she took his bookmark and slipped it into place. “I could have found it again even if I had lost it.”

“Bu.. Bu. bu.. But the King needs that book to find…” A pout of confusion pursed his lips. “You didn’t even read the page I found.”

Bri interrupted, “He’s looking for me, isn’t he?”

“Yes, my my my Queen.”

“I’m right here, aren’t I?”

“Oh,” at least that calmed the man down. “True.”

She sat on the lip of the fountain with a huff. “Now where is he?”

The professor’s shoulders lifted. “S s si s sir comes in the m m mornings somet t t times.” Looking up at a clock on the front of the library that was backwards, but running properly, he determined it was later than a normal visit. Bri saw the time was nearing noon. She would wait, at least for a while in case he was on his way. 

“Why this book?” It was an odd question she knew, but one worth asking. “There is literally a mountain of knowledge here.” Delicate fingers traced over the intricate gold pattern on its cover. “”Wait, earlier you said ‘Tales of the _Un_ known’. You must have confused this one with that one.”

“No,” he sighed as he sat beside her. “That is why.. why.. why I was upset. I saw the title change. No one will c c c come and visit just to read ‘Tales of the Known’. I had visitors from eve.. ever.. everywhere wanting to know answers and they would come to this library to read t.. th.. that book.”

Bri opened it again and lifted her glasses, “Ah, I see the words did straighten themselves out didn’t they. Was that part of the appeal?”

A chuckle came out of the old scholar. “You can try.. try.. try asking if it knows something you want to know or remember.”

She closed the book between her palms, closed her eyes, made the request. “Let me read about my beloved,” and opened to page 297.


	4. Chapter 4

Jareth sat cross legged on the ground surrounded by crying goblins. “I’ve looked everywhere.” Left fist holding up his head, he threw a hand out to gesture at the cavern they were in. It was filled with muck, dripping stalactites and nothing else but the visitors. Darkness creeped around them and the sorrow seeped into their souls. The ceiling cried with them. “Even the worst little crevices.” 

“There’s a bird living in my helmet,” Birdbrain whined piteously, “and she doesn’t like me.”

“I’ve got mud on my pinkie toes!” wailed another.

The egg Jareth had plucked from the nest was placed on the ground before them all and he watched as it got darker and darker the longer they stayed in the pit. “What if she doesn’t really exist? She could just be a statue, or two, or” lifting a finger and making marks in the air like he was counting, Jareth ended up guessing a number “297. What if it’s one statue that the labyrinth is just moving around and repositioning?” He touched the top of the egg with the tip of his finger and rolled it around in a circle. “What if she doesn’t know me?”

“I never knew my mother.” a big goblin named Mogus said in a deep hollow voice.

“Never knowing someone and being the one that isn’t remembered are very different, especially when you do remember.” Jareth remembered both of his mothers and neither recognized him. There was no real love shared between them. It was hard to compare the feeling of them not knowing him to the thought of Bri not knowing him. The human that raised him until he was weaned didn’t know he wasn’t hers. It was a bit of ironic luck that his sibling wished him away to the goblins. In a way, they wished him home. The goblins had no king back then and the castle didn't exist. Only the labyrinth stood with its twists and turns. They brought him to his birth mother and found her interest didn't lay in him but in her daughters. 

All of her children were raised as he was: by humans. A male was an oddity even his own mother didn’t know what to do with. So cast away by his foster family and aside from his birth family, he looked to the goblins. They were accepting of all sorts of cast off children. Most of those switch for changelings or those like himself were left to a wild life. Most grew into new goblins, if they survived. Humans did tend to be a fragile sort, but Jareth was far from a frail and thrived on the wild side. They played and plotted; tricked and tormented; terrorized until the sun went down. But even goblins sleep. On his first night home in the labyrinth, he dreamed of the girl.

Dreams were tricky things, though. For the fae, a dream could be as real as any waking illusion might be. One could live a thousand years in a dream but pass no more than a day of mortal time. His entire life had been split between dreams and reality. Those daily visions were as much a part of his life as ruling over the goblins. Jareth grew up with her, day by day, year by year. No matter what she decided to call herself from day to day or place to place, Jareth always knew her. However, so did everyone else. Over the years he learned everyone dreamed of Bri. Everyone had a name for her that they identified to her. He was certain she was one and the same.

Jareth felt small kicks in his side, and looked down at Plink, who had cried himself to sleep. It was a cue to get moving because Jareth was about to doze off as well. The egg had turned as black as soot. A deep inhale into his lungs and the Goblin King blew on the egg. The black flaked away to leave a bright golden yellow shell. Taking the egg, he nudged the goblin with his toe and stood. “Up, all of you!” 

“Rinah says don’t be sad,” the sleeping goblin said as he sat up, still half asleep.

It was like a balm over the entire band. Another name familiar to all just by it being mentioned. The despair faded and left them all blinking awake. Jareth stared down at Plink, only a moment, before that tiny smile breached his lips. “As my queen wishes.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bri felt someone touching her hair and slowly opened her eyes. She must have fallen asleep while reading. The eyes above her froze as did the hands, but only for a second. A hard look entered the eyes before they tore out of her sight. The tug on her hair told her something else was torn away too. “Ow,” she said, although not really hurt from the pull on her locks.

She sat up slowly, watching as a young man was running full tilt away from her into the woods just down the path, crown in hand. Peering at him over the rims of her glasses, Bri lifted a hand and pointed accusingly. “Stop thief!”

Loud creaking and cracking echoed off the maze walls, shaking the landscape as the entire forest moved. The trees pulled up their roots and lumbered towards the boy. The thief skidded to a stop and back-peddled in the direction he came. Bri stood still, and since she didn't make any other moves to stop him, the young man aimed to sprint past her. Bri has something to say about that. “I said stop.”

Instantly a wall shot up in front of the lad right before he reached her. Slamming so hard into the surface,he was thrown back six feet. The little trees were quicker than the rest and reached him first. They started swatting at the boy with their leafy limbs. The oldest oak loomed over them all and reached down to grab a leg, lifting the thief up and rescuing the tiara from his greedy grasp. A long branch stretched out with the headpiece and offered it to Bri. In a voice deep and earthy, he addressed his queen. “Your crown, Ilana.” He dangled the thief before her as she set her tiara to its proper place.

“Thank you, wise old Cerris.” Almost in apology, she lightly chastised them all. “You didn’t have to uproot! Although, I do appreciate you all, down to the smallest shoot, for shooing him back to me.” The thief was more boy than man she noticed as she got up close. Perhaps it was that he was unconscious that softened his feature back into their boyish youth instead of the intent hard lines he had shown when robbing her. Thief at hand, she touched his cheek and closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark and murky in the boy’s dream. A swampy sensation clung to her, causing her to want to wipe it away from her skin. Only, she knew that it wouldn't go away no matter how much she rubbed. Bri sat down in the darkness and, with a shake of her head, said “This won’t do.” Two sharp claps broke the quiet and, with the sound, the gloom lifted around her.

The boy blinked at the brightness from his seat right in front of Bri. “Who the hell Are you?”

“Well right now, I’m your judge and jury, waiting to see if you raise my fury, and I need my friend to drop you on your head until you're quite dead, for the _ stupidity _ of robbing their queen.”

He gave a flinch and looked about for the executioner. “What, so you’re some kind ‘o queen of the forest.”

“Noooo,” she said laughing and patted his knee as if he’d told some hilarious joke. A small smile came to the boy’s face and a light laugh joined hers. They both laughed until her hand tightened on his knee and the smile was just gone from her face. The glow around her became a terrifying thing that made his skin crawl. “I am the queen of everything here.”

“The Labyrinth?”

Bri lifted a finger and tapped the side of her nose before pointing at the boy. “You rejected a sibling.” Waving her hand in the air as if brushing away the fog of his thoughts, a scene unfolded in the near distance. “Jacob,” Bri said accusingly, “Why did you cast aside your little sister?"

"She," he started, shaken by the change in the girl he found sleeping on a fountain. "She was useless. Another mouth that we didn't have food for. I worked all day in the fields and came in to watch her eat up what I grew."

Bri was watching the memory he had and saw a tiny girl gulping down handfuls of meat, cheese, and vegetables with glee. "Oh come now, boy! Remember the truth instead of what you felt. That child isn't big enough to even chew that food let alone gulp it down with careless abandon."

When Jacob looked again, he saw his sister barely nibbling the crust of bread in her hand while he stole bits off her plate. "It, it doesn't matter. We still didn't have enough food for all of us. With her gone, we could survive!"

"She has a name!" Bri said in a low sad tone. "Such that it is. You deny her even that. Deirdre deserves to be free of you. If you were gone, your family could survive as well."

The little thief shook his head in denial. "No. I'm a good worker. I can find some treasure here to make it alright. Mom will get over her loss with warm clothes and a full belly."

Bri shook her head at the vision the boy produced, but said nothing. She stood and let the light fade, leaving him in the dark. "You will die with those beliefs. There is no seeing the light."


	7. Chapter 7

Opening her eyes, Bri continued to shake her head as she pulled her hand away from his face. The trees had taken new roots to surround the library, bringing a lovely appeal to the building. Perhaps it would be enough to draw the curious to visit the Professor. "Abby, my Queen! Are you… you alright?"

“Oh yes, quite alright.” Bri returned to her fountain and picked up her mirror to check the tiara was perched correctly on her head. There was a thump behind her where the Old Oak dropped the boy and returned to a more comfortable position. She paid no attention to the sound of the body thumping to the ground and checking her teeth in the mirror with a wide smile. The mirror was set on top of the book and she turned to see the Professor pulling his vision away from the crumpled boy. “Do you happen to have a bag or sack? A satchel or pack I could use, Professor?”

“My app apologies, Abby, No.” Glancing at the boy, he asked, “Should we take him for punishment, Majesty?”

“He’s already being punished,” was her off-handed response before she gave an, “Oh well, I’m sure I’ll find one along the way.” Picking up her small stack of items, she tucked them in the crook of her arm. “You're ever so kind, but I can't say. Thank you for your time and help today. The book I’ll borrow and bring back tomorrow. I think I’ll head out, Professor, and see if his Majesty is about.” As she walked through the new archway of branches.

The other trees swayed and the Professor waved. “Good luck, Abby!”


	8. Chapter 8

Just over the treeline, signs rose up, one after the other and pointed down to a destination below. A structure was being built by the goblins as Jareth barked out his orders. “A little higher. Yes, Closer… a little tighter. Hmm” He looked up at the eyesore and wondered if he was getting high enough and elaborate enough. “Do you think it’s enough?” The goblins looked up and either nodded, shook their head no or shrugged. “Very helpful,” Jareth said mockingly. It was a monsterous monolith of arrows, signs and posts all aimed at a small stand in the center. The signs read things like treasure, free stuff, take me and 1st prize. Jareth stood by the stand and looked at the empty treasure chest from each side with the golden egg in hand. Placing it at a jaunty angle, he stepped back to observe their handywork. “What do you think?” he asked.

Glubmud, particularly stupid goblin with his tongue hanging out, nodded virorously while the slightly taller one behind him raised an eyebrow and said, “Looks… like a trap.”

“True,” he sighed but stared at the shiny helmat on the taller goblin."You there, Jopi, turn that sign a bit.” Jareth picked up the egg. Jopi took hold of the requested sign as Jareth moved over to the trees and climbed up on a rock. Reaching up, he placed the egg in a nest and instructed Jopi. “A little farther… more to the right… stop!” Jopi froze as the sun bounced off the sign and reflected on the egg. “Now,” Jareth said and hopped down off the boulder, “who has a gift for our Queen?”

Everyone shuffles and scrambles in their belongings to pull something free and lift it high over their heads.


	9. Chapter 9

The uniform stone walls started to gain a little color and vary in shape. At first it was just a single stone and then they multiplied until all smoothness and symmetry was gone. Bri suddenly stopped and half turned to look behind her. Looking at the wall from her angle, an image could be seen. An arrow pointed in the direction she was headed with the words 'World of Fun' arching above. Laughing harlequins were tumbling in front of the arrow and one rode on top. 

Bri smiled and laughed back at the harlequin's in the painted mural. "I could stop for a little fun, and find his Majesty when I'm done."

"Ya can?" came a high pitched response from the anamorphic image. The harlequin riding the arrow seemed to peel off the surface and tumble down the head of the arrow. The two dimensional thing stuck a thumb in her mouth and made the sound a clown makes when blowing up a balloon. All her limbs and digits filled in and her cheeks popped out. When the ends of her pigtails flew out and made a squeaky, leaky balloon sound, she stopped blowing with an exhausted, "Whew! Kinda makes ya dizzy." Her arms shot out and enveloped Bri in a big hug. "Harly Queen! We've missed you!"

"Good to see all of you, Charade." The other harlequins followed suit and soon Bri was surrounded by tumbling acrobats. "Blackjack, Roulette, Bishop, Diamond, Ace; what's happening today? A parade? Dueling duets? A performance worthy of his Grace? Or just something to bring a smile to my face?"

"Ooo like paint?" asked Roulette, pulling a finger down his painted tear.

Ace clasped her hands behind her back, pointing her toe out and looked at Roulette in confusion, "paint? Like make-up?"

Diamond leaned against Roulettes side, fluttered his lashes and pursed his lips. "Do her up? Make over for a takeover?" 

"Over take the king?" Bishop nodded with a fist under his chin. "Timing's the thing."

"Things to change the bod!" Charade ran her hands over her body up to frame her face. "Create a new facade."

Bri clapped her hands, "Yes! A mod, nothing too odd, with lots of cling to make him sing. Wake my lover where he can take no other. Let's make him faint and show him I'm no saint."

They all clapped in their own elaborate way: high and low, fingertips and hips. "Right-i-o," chimed in Charade. She leaned into the wall where a laughing clown bared his tongue and a click of a latch releasing opened a door. The harlequins tumbled back as the tongue dropped down like the door on a drawbridge. A loud fair and circus tent was in full celebration on the other side. "Away we go!"


	10. Chapter 10

“Did you see that little tool? Humans are so easy to fool.” Jareth scoffed at how quickly the greedy human had fallen for his trap. The signs had drawn him in just as the treasure chest had made him search. The boy had cursed and grumbled as he rummaged through their gifts for his queen. That is, until he caught the reflection and found the egg. Oh, how the boy had marveled at his ‘good’ fortune. Jareth chuckled and laughed as they walked, “Let us make our way back through to find some new trouble to brew.” 

“Our cue?” aske Jopi.

“Yes, yes.” Jareth smiled and asked, “What should we do?”

“We could eat a ewe?” offered Mogus.

Plink rubbed his belly. “A few.”

“That is an activity but not exactly what I was looking for.” The Goblin King said with a little exasperation. “We need something a little more,” He snapped his fingers, not finding the word he wanted.

"Door!" Birdbrain shouted when he saw it appear behind his king.

"Yes, a door could lead us to what we need."

On the door appeared the words, 'World of Fun'. Of course not all of the goblins were literate. "Read?"

"No, no no, I can not lead you to where they read to you. The Library was closed."

Jopi rolled his eyes. "That's not what we proposed." He pointed to the door that was now slowly creaking open on its own.

Jareth spun and let out an "Ah!" The sounds of the carnival in full force welcomed them and tempted all to enter. "Or we could go and watch a show." 

The Goblin king and his entourage joined the World of Fun. "Barkers and hawkers, players and gawkers." The hall of mirrors made Glubmud stop and scratch his head at the mirror that made him a tall skinny goblin. "Plenty to see," waving his hands like a magician in front of Glubmuds eyes, he pulled a coin from the air. "Whatever you wish to be," He flipped the coin to the ballyhoo, "For a fee." 

A large tent in the center of it all drew Jareth's attention as some of his crew was drawn in by the barkers. Plink seemed to be buying what looked like a brick on a stick from a food stall while mogus lumbered over to a "test your strength" game, cracking his knuckles. Absently, Jareth flipped more coins to the carnival crew, to pay for a few, before buying tickets for himself and Jopi for the big show.

The tent was crowded with all sorts of creatures from the labyrinth. All cleared a path for him, nodding in recognition of the king. Jareth had picked out the seats he wanted and, with his crop, tapped the heads of the two fireys that sat there. Well their heads were there; their bodies must have been getting refreshments. Jopi tossed them and their complaints into other seats and dusted the area off for Jareth. Whispers of "the king!" flew through the crowd, cast and crew. He sat, flipping the edge of his coat out so he didn't sit on it. The tent went silent as the king crossed his leg over the opposite knee. Appearing almost hesitant to start without the king being ready, the ringmaster straightened his hat and looked behind him.

Jareth waved his hand in a rolling motion. "You may begin."

The ringmaster spun around and announced, "Royalty, gentlemen and ladies fair, I direct your gaze up in the air! High above your head, where the brave tread, our harlequins do tumble without a stumble." 

Our familiar friends flipped and flew to the center platform of the bigtop by tightrope and trapeze. The ringmaster's commentary slowly faded in Jareth's ears as he was captivated by the show and one harlequin in particular. She wore a skintight bodysuit that left nothing to the imagination. The harlequin's mask was an exaggeration of the statues he was so familiar with. Painted like his queen, he could do nothing but watch her intently. She was a seductive sorcerous bewitching him into forgetting his dream girl and loving her all the more The group performed phenomenal acts of acrobatic antics meant to raise fear in the audience. Jareth had stood during a particularly impressive and harrowing triple flip that brought the audience to its feet. His heart was in his throat with dread as it was duplicated in reverse. The tremendous applause drowned out the pleas of attention from a goblin at his side. The tugging on his coat made him pull his eyes away from the spell being cast by the harlequin.

"Majesty! The crown! It's gone!"

"What!?" Jareth thundered, the circus now forgotten. The show went on as the king stormed out of the tent.


	11. Chapter 11

There was thunderous applause when she landed again from the reverse flips. She was smiling wide when she spun to take in the admiration again. Arm reaching high in an elegant pose of a dancer or, in this case, acrobat, Bri stood tall and let her eyes move over her admirers. Bri only wanted to see one person's reaction. The only problem was he wasn’t there. A frown formed on her face as she scanned over the entire tent in case he had moved. How could he leave in the middle of such a harrowing flip? Her arm dropped as did her performance posture. He had been on his feet with the rest of the crowd. Was that only so he could leave? Slowly her hands rolled into fists by her hips. She stomped her foot on the platform, rattling the tent and bringing out an unexpected crack of lightning outside.

It was an abrupt end to the show that even the Ringmaster barely managed a “thank you for coming.” The tent cleared quickly more from the pressure building inside than the slowly breaking tent poles and falling fabric. Another stomp brought the platform down to the ground. When she hit, thunder echoed through the area. Bri leaned forward, hands still in fists, opened her mouth and let out a shriek akin to nails on a chalkboard. The harlequins all covered their ears until she ran out of breath and collapsed in a sulking heap.

“Uh oh! Parties over,” Charade said hurrying over to Bri’s side. “Haey, haey, it's alright.” She crooned to her queen, petting her back. Bri was coiled tight like a spring, arms now hugging her knees. “He probably felt guilty thinking he liked another girl, yeah that's it. He couldn’t face his desire for fear of betrayin’ his queen.”

“His Majesty was wound up tight.” Diamond waved his hand in her direction, “Honey, you could have cut that sexual tension with a knife.”

Bishop held up one finger, “He’s lost the fight. Harly Queen One.”

“Yeah, Don’cha worry hun.” Ace said leaning down to brace her hands on her knees.

It was raining outside the tent now and Roulette was dancing in the still standing part of the tent, daring it to collapse on him. He smiled, happy with both the thought and the result. “Could be that,” he paused, opening his mouth under a tear in the tent to let the rain in. “Could be this: maybe he had to piss.”

Everyone snickered and snorted. Even Bri cracked a smile. Looking up at the broken and bent poles, Bri felt a little guilty for ending the show so abruptly. “I’m sorry, my friends.”

“No need to frown.”

“This isn’t how it ends.”

“You brought the house down!”

“No need to make amends”

Each harlequin gave a parting smile and encouraging phrase before they started to help the cleanup, leaving only Charade to console Bri. “It’s a small town. People will be coming around the bend.” She looked at Bri hopefully, “We might not be more than clowns, even we can see what true love can be, by looking at he who is meant to be with you.” The sky was darkening and the thunder rolled through the clouds with flickers of lightning that no longer reached the ground. Even the sun seemed to have shrunk towards the horizon to usher in the night. A bright ray of sun managed to break free of the clouds and shine onto the clouds in a lovely painting of light. There was something else there, too, Bri though as she squinted into the distance. “Maybe he left you another present?” Charade said, resting her chin on Bri’s shoulder to see what Bri could see.

The free gift signs did have that touch. “It is something my king would do.” A laugh escaped her sorrowful state and brightened Bri’s face. “Well, Since we didn’t see which way he went, I will go there and at least get my present.” Everyone stopped their work and surrounded Bri in a giant group hug. She pulled away from them reluctantly, knowing their warmth was real and comforting. 

“Good luck, Harly Queen!” Charade shouted after Bri as she disappeared under the sign that read ‘exit’.


End file.
